Public comments will be accepted for 60 days
A draft revised recovery plan that outlines steps needed to recover the endangered Mariana crow, known as aga in Chamorro, was released today by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for public review and comment. The plan replaces the original developed in 1990 that addressed multiple species of native forest birds on Guam and Rota.
"With public input, we hope to develop a plan that will provide the necessary guidance to increase aga numbers on Rota and restore the species on Guam," said Patrick Leonard, field supervisor for the Fish and Wildlife Service's Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office.
This plan outlines specific criteria needed to downlist the species status to threatened, and to eventually delist or remove the species from the list of federally protected plants and animals. Criteria identified for both actions are active research, habitat management, predator control, population augmentation or reestablishment through translocation (moving birds from one area to another), population monitoring, and community involvement. Brown treesnake control and interdiction, habitat management and research are considered the highest priority actions needed to prevent extinction.
Downlisting criteria require that a minimum of two populations of aga are stable or increasing in size for at least 10 consecutive years. The two populations, one in Rota and the other in northern Guam, must each have a minimum of 75 breeding pairs. Delisting criteria require that a minimum of three populations of aga are stable or increasing in size for at least 10 consecutive years. The three populations, one in Rota and the others in northern and southern Guam, must have a minimum of 75 breeding pairs each.
Threats to the aga range from habitat loss and human persecution to diseases and introduced species such as cats, rats, black drongos, monitor lizards, and the brown treesnake. However, the brown treesnake is believed to be the principal threat to the species on Guam, and on Rota, habitat loss, human persecution, and possibly rat predation on nests are believed to be major threats.
Historically, the aga was found on the islands of Guam and Rota in the Mariana archipelago. The last known native aga is believed to have disappeared from Guam sometime in 2002 or 2003. Thanks to individuals originating from Rota, ten aga currently live in the wild on Guam. Current population estimates for Rota indicate approximately 85 pairs live on the island, but this population may be experiencing a serious decline.
The aga is a member of the crow family, which includes birds such as crows, ravens, magpies, and jays. The aga is the only representative of the crow family found in Micronesia. The bird was federally listed as endangered in 1984, and is also listed by the Territory of Guam and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
The adult is black with a dark-green gloss to its head, neck and back, and a bluish tint to the tail. The sexes appear similar, with brown eyes and a slender, black bill. The aga prefers native limestone forest for breeding and foraging, but it will forage in other habitats such as beach strand vegetation and coconut groves. Agas are known to nest exclusively on native tree species on Rota. The species is an omnivorous, opportunistic feeder that is known to feed on insects, lizards, bird eggs, hermit crabs, fruits, and seeds. The aga once played an important role in the cultures of Guam and Rota and was respected as a positive symbol of native animals being honored as pets and in native poetry.
The availability of the draft revised recovery plan for a 60-day public comment period was announced in the Federal Register on January 11, 2005. Copies of the draft recovery plan are available through the Fish and Wildlife Service" ; mso-ascii- ; mso-hansi- ; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol- "mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol- =s website at http://pacificislands.fws.gov or by calling the Fish and Wildlife Service" ; mso-ascii- ; mso-hansi- ; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol- "mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol- =s Honolulu office at 808 792 9400. Written comments may be submitted until March 13, 2005 to the Field Supervisor, Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office, 300 Ala Moana Blvd., Room 3-122, Box 50088, Honolulu, HI 96850.
